This is an amended application for a mentored patient-oriented development award to enable Dr.Wael N. Jarjour to devote 75% of his time for five years to a program that includes didactic coursework and laboratory investigatiion to enable him to obtain training in biostatistics, human investigation, research design and experimental investigation. This program will facilitate his career development to be an independent clinical investigator. This program consists of didactic coursework involving basic statistics, advanced statistical modeling, fundamental methodologies in clinical investigation, and a intense course in ethical conduct of clinical investigation. It is proposed that he will be trained in molecular endocrinology by Dr.Margaret Shupnik who will serve as primary mentor, and in cellular immunology by Dr. Shu Man Fu as his co-mentor. A committee has been set up to monitor his progress and the commitment from the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine to have 75% protected time to achieve the goals as outlined for this award. A research program has been devised which addresses an important issue regarding gender bias in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) which affects females predominately and the kidney as one of the major target organs. The research plan has been revised taking the Reviewers' concerns in to consideration. It deals with the role of estrogen receptors (ER) in the pathogenesis of SLE. This disease affects predominately females in their reproductive life. It has also been demonstrated that female hormones such as estrogen have profound effects on the immune system. Thus, it is logical to study the role of estrogen receptors in SLE, a protyppic disease of systematic autoimmunity. Preliminary data have suggested marked differences between alpha nd beta estrogen receptor expression by lymphocytes from normals and SLE patients. Four specific aims are proposes: 1) to examine the protein and mRNA expression of ERalpha and Erbeta in circulating T cells of patients with SLE in comparison with healthy controls; 2) to determine if ER activation differs in T lymphocytes from SLE patients and controls; and 3) to determine whether altered sensitivity of T cells from SLE patients and certain normal control populations is due to the effects odf protein which regulate ER activty. This research plan will provide Dr. Jarjour the needed training in experimental design and techniques, data analyses, and manuscript preparation as well as to complement the didactic coursework. Through both didactic coursework and laboratory investigation, Dr. Jarjour will attain his goals to develop into an independent clinical investigator with ability to study mechanisms of human diseases of immunological basis and to devise novel therapeutic approaches based on the understanding of these mechanisms.